ALTOONA, Pa. -- What would be the value of a 10-2 season for Penn State and James Franklin? That's easy, right? A 10-2 season would be fantastic.
Yes, of course. No program should ever take a 10-win season for granted.
But what if it would come with this asterisk: The Nittany Lions would not have a single victory over a top 25 team.
It would be the ultimate example of winning the games you're supposed to win, and losing the games you're supposed to lose. You know, pretty much par for the course for most of Franklin's tenure.
Penn State can get to 10-2 by winning at home against Maryland this week, winning at Rutgers next week and finishing up with a home victory over Michigan State. Of those 10 victories, there would not be a signature win -- one that everyone can point to and say, "See, Penn State is really good because it beat that team."
The two losses have come in the two most important games of the season -- at Michigan (41-17) and at home against Ohio State (44-31). The Lions had a good chance to win one and were blown out in the other. It should be noted that both of those teams could end up in the College Football Playoff.
So, all things considered, how would this season be viewed in its totality if the Lions do go on to finish 10-2 but without a signature win?
The media and the public latch on to things such as signature wins when evaluating teams. So, I asked Franklin on Tuesday how he as a coach views the concept of the signature win.
"Obviously there's value in it, right," Franklin said. "It's interesting because you got some teams and some programs that have not been consistent but have big-time wins. And then you have others that have been consistent but not the signature win. And obviously what you want is both, right."
Getting both can indeed be a challenge, as Franklin mentioned.
Take, for instance, Pitt. There have been cases over the years where the Panthers have pulled off huge wins under Pat Narduzzi (ie Clemson in 2016) but also have been very inconsistent (they finished just 8-5 that year). Or like in 2021, when Pitt lost to Western Michigan but wound up winning the ACC title.
"You want the consistency week in and week out, which I think we've all seen is hard to do," Franklin continued, "and the signature wins are hard to do. And what you're trying to do is both. That's what the best programs in college football are able to do -- I don't know if I would necessarily say consistently, but yes, that's what the best programs in college football are attempting to do.
"So yeah, I think it's a fair point. Obviously, we want the same thing. But most importantly, we got to be 1-0 this week, or people will be complaining about the other part of it, too. So we just got to do what we got to do this week ... and then hopefully at the end of the season, we're where we need to be and put ourselves in the best position possible for the bowl season as well as momentum going into next season."
In general, all things being equal, a case could be made that this would not necessarily be a hugely successful season if Penn State were to go 10-2 with no signature wins. Because at some point, you gotta beat somebody really good if you also want to be considered really good.
But when it comes to this season specifically for Penn State -- and for Franklin -- not all things can be considered equal.
The Lions went just 11-11 over the past two years. Franklin has taken all kinds of heat for it, too, and deservedly so.
But the results of the past two years do impact how we view this season for the program and the coach.
Franklin needed wins this year. Lots of them. He could not have afforded another 7-5 kind of season, or else the fan base would continue to turn on him.
If he wins 10 games in the regular season, Franklin has a signature something to point to. No, it won't be a signature victory, but a signature number.
Ten wins makes for a successful season, no matter what. End of discussion.
Even if the team did lose its two biggest games.
A 10-win season allows Franklin to say to everyone -- the fans, the media, the boosters, the alumni -- that, "Hey, I got this. We're on the right track. We're close."
How close? Well, there's a chance that this particular 10-win season could land the Lions in the Rose Bowl, which would make for a hugely successful year in and of itself. The Orange Bowl also is on the table, as is, to a lesser degree, a good but non-New Year's Six bowl such as the Citrus.
If Franklin leads Penn State to the Rose Bowl, that's an enormous component when it comes to bragging rights. And of course, getting to the Rose Bowl means a chance to beat a really good team to earn that signature win, such as USC or Oregon this year. The same could be said about the opponent in the Orange Bowl, such as perhaps a Clemson.
Beat one of those teams in a bowl game, not only would how we view this season change dramatically, it also would be a gigantic boost for the program and for Franklin going forward.
The coach keeps talking a bunch about needing a full commitment from everyone at the university on a 365-day-a-year basis in order to keep up with the rest of the country. Well, it's harder to fully back a coach who has gone 11-11 over the past two years, and Franklin can change that narrative with a 10-2 season that would, in essence, allow him to go back to the boosters and the Board of Trustees and say, "Help me! Give me your money! Fully back us!"
There would be great value in all of that for the program, because a Rose or Orange Bowl appearance -- and certainly a victory there -- would have everyone feeling great about Penn State football once again.
And that would be the ultimate signature win for Franklin and the Lions this season.
